The level of play from No. 20 Illinois left those folks wearing orange statewide suffering from mood swings. After scoring 69 points combined in losses to Minnesota and Penn State, Illinois left Ohio State on Sunday with a 70-68 victory.

"You never know what you're going to get out of this team,'' said Illini forward Mike Davis.

It's not just Illinois. In a shockingly fluid college basketball season, even the game's biggest names suffered from the highs and lows. Duke dropped a 27-point loss at Clemson, the kind of blowout Duke hadn't suffered in 19 seasons. As Illinois (22-6 overall, 10-5 in the Big Ten) prepared to host Minnesota (20-7, 8-7) on Thursday (6 p.m., Big Ten Network), the Jekyll-and-Hyde Illini are both overachieving and exasperating.

Illinois still remained mathematically alive for the Big Ten Conference title, although a top three finish is more realistic. When it's going good, this is a team that could sniff a 30-win season. OK, that might take a sweep in the three remaining regular-season games, a run in the Big Ten Tournament and an overnight stay in the NCAA Tournament just to get close. After a 19-loss season a year ago set a school record, that's more than a fantasy.

As for the NCAAs, "Illinois is playing for a seed,'' said Jerry Palm, a cbssports.com bracketologist. "They're not a threat to miss the tournament.''

Illinois' seed may range from a No. 4 to 6, Palm said, but the embarrassing performance against Penn State hurt Illinois less than it did the Nittany Lions, even though Penn State left town with the victory.

"Penn State is just trying to break into the bottom of the bracket, trying to make a positive impression on the committee and look like an NCAA team,'' Palm said. "They didn't do it on that night. Illinois had a lot more good performances, so it's not as big a deal. But the committee won't over-value one game.''

Palm posted Illinois as a No. 4 seed with Purdue at No. 4 and Michigan State at No. 2. ESPN had Illinois at No. 7 with Purdue at No. 4 and Michigan State at No. 3. With so much parity and large numbers from three power conferences, seeding could be more difficult than selecting the field.

"If you get six or seven teams from the Big Ten and seven or eight teams from the Big East and ACC, the biggest dilemma will be seeding, trying to keep them all separate, the plus-minus factor of moving up one or down one,'' Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.

Yet there's the dark side for the Illini, so Weber can't allow himself to be happy. If he does, the players get content, don't practice well and get too casual.

"I can't relax with them,'' Weber said. "I have to get the mean face, the game face. Get on them. Keep them motivated and get a sense of urgency. Late in the year, we've got young guys that need to be always prodded along. That's what we're going to have to keep doing.''

He gets much of his help from assistant coach Wayne McClain. While Jay Price is generally a deliberate teacher on the sidelines and Jerrance Howard is more "cuddly,'' Weber said, McClain doesn't mind raising his piercing voice.

"Coach Weber will bark at you,'' Davis said. "At the end of the day, he doesn't want to yell. He says he won't sleep at night. Coach McClain doesn't care. He's goes home and sleeps no matter what.''

If Weber is constantly nagging, "they turn me off,'' he said. "If one of the assistants pops in, that might get their attention more. It's important.''

McClain learned timing from his days as an assistant and head coach at Peoria Manual High School. He guided the program to three consecutive Class AA titles after serving as an assistant during another state championship season.

"You whisper a couple times, then sometimes you have to make a stand,'' McClain said. "If you're constantly in somebody's face yelling all the time, after awhile they'll say, 'He's just going to yell.' I like to take the best player and make an example of them. Sometimes that helps in practice.''

NOTE: Former Illini stars Ken Norman and Deon Thomas are scheduled to be honored in ceremonies during the last two home games. Norman will be recognized before the Illinois-Minnesota game Thursday. Thomas, the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,129 points, will be honored at halftime of the game Sunday against Michigan State. Both players are among the 30 who have their jersey numbers hanging above the Assembly Hall court.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

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